Former B-2 Bomber Engineer Accused of More Spying

WASHINGTON, Nov. 10, 2006 — -- A former Northrop engineer who helped design the B-2 stealth bomber has been hit with additional charges in an indictment that a federal grand jury returned earlier this week.

Noshir Gowadia, one of the lead engineers on the B-2 project, was originally indicted in November 2005 for allegedly selling information about the B-2 to China; the new indictment charges that his lust for money went even further as he shopped U.S. defense secrets to individuals in Israel, Germany and Switzerland, as well China.

The new charges allege that Gowadia helped China design and test crucial parts of a stealth cruise missile for China's military.

"The defendant did knowingly and willfully export a defense service and related technical data to the People's Republic of China (PRC)," the indictment said.

The indictment alleges that on six occasions between 2003 and 2005, Gowadia traveled to China "for the specific purpose of assisting the PRC in designing, testing and analyzing a low observable exhaust nozzle... for a PRC cruise missile."

Gowadia allegedly worked with individuals named Tommy Wong and Henri Nyo. The indictment notes that Wong worked for the Chinese Foreign Expert's Bureau and that the men traveled to Chengdu, China "a center for research and development of Chinese fighter aircraft and cruise missiles."

According to Justice Department officials, Gowadia was paid about $2 million for his work on the cruise missile and for the secrets he compromised on the B-2.

The scientist was provided top secret access while he worked for Northrop, the designer of the B-2, from 1968 to 1986. He then later worked at Los Alamos National Laboratory before establishing his own consulting company.

In recent years the FBI and Justice Department believe he went on a marketing campaign, via e-mail, essentially selling information about sensors and the stealth propulsion system to several countries, including China.

"The defendant in this case attempted to profit from his know-how and his knowledge of sensitive military technology," said Ken Wainstein, assistant attorney general for the Justice Department's National Security Division.